MJ Melendez ended up as one of the clearest snapshots of the Mets’ offseason approach before the 2026 season: an intriguing bet, one that made sense in theory, but one the club leaned on a little too heavily.
That was the whole idea with Melendez. He was the kind of player teams chase when they’re trying to squeeze value out of the margins.
Going into the season at 27, he came with real pedigree - a former Top 100 prospect in the eyes of Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America and MLB Pipeline - and he had already shown he could hang around league average offensively in 2022 and 2023 with the Royals. Then came the downturn: a worse 2024, followed by a disastrous 2025 that got him released by Kansas City and sent him to Queens.
For the Mets, he was not a disaster. He also was not the answer.
His .191 batting average jumps off the page for all the wrong reasons, but he managed a .315 on-base percentage, slugged .350 and finished with a 91 wRC+ on the season. That’s not starting-caliber production, but it was enough to keep him afloat as a bench piece.
The strangest stretch of Melendez’s year came early, when the Mets were so banged up that they had no choice but to run him out there often in April. And he delivered. Melendez posted a 191 wRC+ that month, even as the team around him was a mess, finishing with a league-low 77 wRC+ in April.
After that, the bottom dropped out. He put up a 54 wRC+ in May, followed by a 71 wRC+ in June, and spent the rest of the season in Syracuse. In October, Melendez elected free agency, but he probably did enough to land at least a minor league deal somewhere.
In the end, his season fit the Mets all too well. The hot streak came at the wrong time, just like the team finally looking like a solid big league club after the season had already gone sideways.
In Other News...
Braves First Offseason Move Involves A Former Mets Depth Piece
The Braves have started their offseason by bringing back a familiar utility name, agreeing to a minor league contract with Vidal Brujan. For Mets fans, it is a reminder of a player who passed through Queens briefly in 2026 after first being in Atlantas system in 2025, the kind of depth move that rarely changes a roster but can still matter when a team is trying to build out its bench and Triple-A options.
Brujan has carved out a reputation as a versatile defender more than an established major league bat, which is why his market has tended to live in the margins of the offseason. After his stint with the Mets, he chose free agency, and Atlanta now gets another look at a player it already knows well. The move does not carry much headline weight on its own, but it fits the sort of low-risk churn that often fills out the first weeks of winter. [Read more 🡒]
Mets May Be Eyeing A Rotation Fix They Still Can't Rely On
Pitching depth is once again part of the Mets offseason conversation, and Dustin May has emerged as one of the more intriguing names on the board. The right-hander declined his $20 million mutual option with the Brewers and is now a free agent, giving clubs a chance to weigh his upside against the uneven stretch he just put together. He began the 2026 season with the Cardinals before being dealt to Milwaukee, where his results became more uneven as the year went on.
For the Mets, the appeal is obvious enough. They need arms, and May could fit as either a middle-of-the-rotation starter or a long reliever on a one-year deal. The question is whether a team looking for stability wants to bet on a pitcher whose season included real flashes but also plenty of late-year uncertainty, especially after his struggles in the second half and postseason. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Fans Can Dream On Another NPB Bat But One Problem Looms
After the season, David Stearns reportedly made the trip to Japan to get a closer look at Teruaki Sato, a sign the Mets are at least doing their homework on one of the more intriguing bats overseas. Sato just finished a triple-crown campaign in NPB, which is enough to put him on the radar for any club looking to add impact offense, and it is easy to see why he would appeal as an offseason target.
The fit, though, is not quite as simple as the production line suggests. Satos strikeout rate is a real concern, and the Mets also have some roster congestion to think about, with Bo Bichette and Carson Benge already occupying key spots. So while the idea of another NPB bat will keep fans dreaming, the front office still has to figure out whether the player and the puzzle pieces line up cleanly enough to make the move worthwhile. [Read more 🡒]